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Aspects of the Literary Reception of Buddhist World View in a Novel "Dialog with a Great Old Tree"

  • Korean Language & Literature
  • 2011, (79), pp.203-236
  • Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature

손선희 1

1경희대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine Lee Chung-joon's novel "Dialog with a Great Old Tree" and the origin of his literary spirits on the assumption that there is a very close relationship between literature and religion in that both of the two pursue the ultimate significance of life and an ideal way of life. And it's concluded that the author portrayed the high-dimensional unity of Buddhism and literature to describe his own Buddhist world view and scrutinize the substance of life and death and the matter of salvation. Namely, he deliberated on the origin of a human being, and he believed that religious literature would become most significant when there is a high-dimensional congruence between what literature pursues and what a religion pursues and when their unity produces synergy effects to ensure the harmony of knowledge and conduct. The novel "Dialog with a Great Old Tree" discussed the substance of life and death, the essence of the universe and salvation through the conversation between the hero and a gingko tree, and embraced Buddhist world view. The hero who engages in literature has a will to deal with every matter of life and death within literature and has faith in the possibility of salvation. There are largely three topics of conversation between him and the great old tree. One is 'the substance of life and death,' and another is 'the essence of the universe.' The third is 'a return to a new world.' The author described their conversation by using Daegiseolbeop, which is the interrogatory method that was used in the Agama. The author explained simultaneity and sympatry, which the great old tree mentioned, in terms of Sambeopin. The road to awakening is depicted as 'a return to real nature, transcending Saseongje and going beyond the stage of Moosochak. In the stage that one reaches by transcending Sasungje, he or she gets out of all the troubles and reaches the stage of awakening. The novel mentioned the relationship between the universe and this world as well as the essence of the universe and viewed man's extensive, free imagination as the possible true order of life and the universe. In effect, the novel is a literary work that the high-dimensional unity of Buddhism and literature produces synergy effect, and represents the author's Buddhist world view who inquired into the essence of life and death and the matter of salvation, which could be called an effort to explore the origin of a human being. He opened a new chapter for religious literature in that although he regarded the inquiry of mysterious life as the goal of writing all the time, he made a further attempt in this novel to explore the real nature of man from a Buddhist perspective instead of merely continuing to have his sight set on that goal.

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